Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal Vol. 4, No.

1, 01-07 (2019) ASTESJ

www.astesj.com ISSN: 2415-6698
Special Issue on Recent Advances in Engineering Systems

Automation System for Regulation Optimization in Power Transformer Design

Tatjana Šimović*,1, Mislav Gazdović2
1
Končar Power Transformers Ltd., A joint venture of Siemens and Končar /Zagreb 10000, Croatia
2
Montelektro d.o.o./Kastav 51215, Croatia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history: Large power transformers generally include a customer request for a technically
Received: 29 November, 2018 appropriate regulation unit. The selection process of the regulation unit consists of defining
Accepted: 17 December, 2018 the required input data, performing mathematical calculations necessary to find the
Online: 11 January, 2019 technical limit values that the regulation unit has to satisfy, and finally optimizing and
selecting the appropriate regulation unit. The number of possible permutations consists of
Keywords:
thousands of different combinations, depending on the type of regulation and other
Power transformer regulation
technical limitations. The automation system presented in this paper significantly reduces
Tap changer selection
the time required to obtain the optimal regulation unit solution in both offer and order
Tap changer database
stages of the project, providing significant overall productivity increase. This paper
presents an example of managing a part of a complex system such as power transformer
design using a software solution. The process of finding the optimal regulation unit
„manually” can take up to several hours. Implementing the developed algorithm and
introducing Tap Changer Selection application, the required time is reduced to several
minutes. This represents significant time savings and reduced possibility of errors, thus
improving the power transformer design process.

1. Introduction transformer as a consequence of a certain kind of network

This paper is an extension of work originally presented in the
conference Proceedings of the 41st International Convention for
Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and
Microelectronics (MIPRO 2018) [1].
Large power systems such as electrical grids of entire cities,
countries or continents are systems which must be continuously
regulated in order to keep the voltage supply constant, thereby
ensuring all the electrical devices and equipment to work in the
expected voltage range. In such large systems, disturbances in the
load and/or supply are inevitable – i.e. under greater load, the
current increases, and consequently the voltage drops along the
transmission lines which connect the power supply to the power
consumption. It is important to emphasize that there are two main
types of voltage deviations. The first is caused by a change of load
on the lower voltage side of the power transformer. Since load
through the power transformer has changed, the change of the
position of the regulation unit is required in order to maintain the
voltage at a constant level. The second voltage disorder is the case
when voltage is changed on the higher voltage side of the power
disturbances [2]. Handling such disturbances and maintaining a
constant voltage supply is (among others) the responsibility of the
power transformer as one of the most expensive parts of the power
grid. For this purpose, the regulating power transformer is
equipped with a regulating winding which is connected to the
regulation unit - as shown in Figure 1 - usually On Load Tap
Changer (OLTC).
The OLTC principle was patented in 1927 by Dr. Bernhard
Jansen. Together with the industrial development and economic
growth over the years, the overall power consumption took an
upward trend, following the expansion of the electrical grid. The
development of OLTCs was accelerated over the years due to the
steady increase of the transmission voltage and power. The voltage
regulation basic principle is adding or subtracting turns from either
the primary or the secondary winding. The OLTC alters the power
transformer turns ratio in a number of predefined steps and in that
way changes the secondary (or primary) side voltage [3].
As opposed to the OLTC, the DETC (De Energized Tap
Changer) must not be operated while the transformer is energized.

*
Corresponding Author: Tatjana Šimović, Zagreb 10000, Croatia, +385989889304, Email: tatjana.simovic@siemens.com
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 T. Šimović et al. / Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal Vol. 4, No. 1, 01-07 (2019)
This means that for the DETC to operate, the transformer must be
disconnected from the network for a short period of time. Due to
the mentioned limitations, the DETC is used only when the
regulation capabilities are not a primary concern. This is why an
OLTC regulation unit is more and more becoming a standard
customer request for power transformer regulation.
makes sense to standardize and automate the regulation unit
selection process, which was the main motivation for this work.
The introduction of OLTCs improved the operating efficiency
of electrical systems considerably and this technique found
acceptance worldwide. In general the percentage of transformers
equipped with OLTCs is increasing with the increase of the load
density and interconnection of electrical networks. In addition,
OLTCs applied in industrial process transformers as regulating
units in the chemical and metallurgical industry is another
important field of application [6].
Basic connection diagrams for regulation are typically chosen
with regard to system conditions and size/weight limits during
transportation.
Linear regulation (Figure 2) is applied for a simple design
transformer and regulation unit, with regulating range up to 20
percent of nominal voltage. The taps are added or substracted in
the series with the main winding. This kind of regulation ensures
smallest ohmic losses.

Figure 1: Power transformer with a regulation unit

Generally, many different regulation units are technically

appropriate and may be used for a particular transformer design. In
order to minimize the overall costs while still managing to provide
the required regulation capabilities, one of the transformer
manufacturers' challenges is to optimize the regulation unit
selection process. Since the regulation unit (i.e. tap changer) can
make around 10 – 20% of the total material cost of the transformer, Figure 2: Basic connection diagram linear regulation
the overall effect of optimizing the regulation unit becomes
significant. For linear regulation, voltage accros tap winding UTV is equal
phase to phase voltage across regulation UR.
Related work on this area consists of different power
transformer design tools which (at most) consist of a regulation 
unit database, expecting the user to choose the appropriate Most common type of regulation is a reversing change-over
regulation unit from the list (manually). A tool example presenting selector (plus/minus switching), which allows doubled tapping
automated regulation unit selection functionality in the power range. Regulated winding is connected with the basic winding in
transformer industry is ABB Compas tool [4]. Since this tool is series (Figure 3). The total number of taps decreases or increases,
limited only to ABB types of tap changers, the main motivation for depending on position of tap selector. Boost and buck connection
this work was to provide a faster and more efficient way of (boost - vectorial addition to main winding and buck -vectorial
selecting the optimal regulation unit also for manufacturers other substraction to main winding) enables to increase the regulating
than ABB, e.g. MR (Germany) and C.A.P.T. (Italy) for OLTC and range or to reduce the number of tapped winding.
DETC regulation units since this is a common customer request.
The main advantage of this application becomes evident in the
offer stage where quick and correct selection of the optimal
regulation unit is important for the final transformer design cost
estimation.
2. Transformer Regulation
The transformer is an electrical static device without moving
parts, used to transform electrical power from one circuit to
another without electrical connection and without changing
frequency. Transformer switches the alternating current of the
predetermined electrical voltage into alternating current of a higher Figure 3: Basic connection diagram with reversing switch
or lower electrical voltage using the effect of mutual induction.
The only moving part in a power transformer, the On Load Tap Regulation with reversing change-over selector, for constant
Changer, is one of the main contributors to the failure rates of high induction, depends on regulating voltage and number of step of the
voltage power transformers [5]. Taking this into consideration, it tap winding:

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
Coarse change over selector or coarse/fine switching requires
more complicated winding layout – it is regulation with two
windings, regulated winding and coarse winding insertion (Figure
4). Arrangement of coarse/fine selector has the electrical length of
the fine tap winding plus one step. This kind of regulation offers
the lower copper losses in the tap position with the mínimum
number of effective turns. Coarse/fine regulation offers for some
industrial applications possibility of large number of operations
using special design with up to 5 coarse taps (107 operations i.e.
operating positions) [7].
Figure 4: Basic connection diagram with coarse tap selector
Regulation with coarse fine change over selector across tap
winding:

Voltage across coarse tap winding UCV=UTV
where:
UTV is voltage across tap winding in kV;
UR is regulating range phase to phase in kV;
UCV is voltage across coarse winding in kV;
m is number of steps of tap winding
3. Manual Selection and Calculations
The selection of appropriate OLTC should be made very
carefully, because the OLTC is an important factor with respect to
the transformer's reliability and cost. Each type of regulation unit
is available in a number of variants, with different values of
maximum rated through-current, number of phases, highest
insulation level, tap selector size and basic connection diagrams.
Therefore, the type designation of a regulation unit depends on
these features. A guideline for the OLTC selection is given in IEC
60542, but some special applications as HVDC transformers or
phase shifters are not described in detail.
When selecting the appropriate type of OLTC or DETC
manually, a number of parameters and technical limits have to be
considered.
First of all, the rated through current of the regulation unit must
not be less than the transformer highest current value of the
regulating winding. For regulation at the neutral end with constant
induction (constant flux voltage variation, CFVV), the rated
through current in case of a three-phase full transformer is derived
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using the rated power as the product of current and voltage (one or
three-phase).
For a three-phase autotransformer with regulation in neutral
end, variable induction (variable flux voltage variation, VFVV),.
Sn=const., the rated through current depends on both regulated and
non-regulated voltage levels:

where:
U1 is the rated line voltage of the non-regulated side in kV
U2min is the rated line voltage in the minimum tap position in kV
In case of one-phase transformer, the rated through current is
multiplied by a factor of 3 since the rated power is per phase and
the rated voltages are phase voltages.
Maximum rated through current is the current which the
regulation unit is transferring from one tap to the other at relevant
step voltage.
Step voltage Ustep [V] is the phase voltage between the taps
which depends on the required regulated voltage range and the
required number of positions. This value is constant in case of
CFVV (constant flux voltage variation), unlike in the case of
VFVV (variable flux voltage variation) where different regulating
positions have different volt/turn ratio and therefore different step
voltage values:

where:
U1max and U1min are the required maximum and minimum
regulated line voltage in [kV] (equivalent three-phase bank line
voltage in case of a single-phase transformer);
n is the required number of regulating positions (including the
rated position);
Uk-Uk-1 is the (phase) voltage difference in [V] in the regulating
position k and k-1 (for positions k = 2 to n).
The required regulation unit external insulation level depends
on the insulation level to ground of the side where the regulation
unit is connected. The withstand voltages of the external insulation
are standardized by international standards and correspond to the
highest voltage for equipment [8]. In case of regulation in neutral
end (common for full transformer or VFVV autotransformer), the
insulation level is usually the same as the insulation level of the
transformer neutral (unless otherwise specified). In case of
regulation in line (common for CFVV autotransformers), the
insulation level is the same as the lower voltage side to which the
regulation unit is connected. The insulation level has to be checked
against the applicable technical guide.
The internal insulation level affects the regulation unit tap
selector size, whose price can vary significantly, meaning that the
proper selection is of the essence in choosing the optimal
regulation unit. Highest operating voltage across the regulating
winding is the value that has to be compared with the highest
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permissible phase service voltage across the regulating winding
described in the technical guide, which defines several internal
insulation distances to be checked, most important of which are
distances 'a' and 'b'. For insulating distance 'a' between start and
end of the regulating winding and insulating distance 'b' between
the fine tap selector contacts of different phases, a statistics-based
estimation is used. The logic behind the estimation is assuming
linear distribution, and additionally applying a „non-linearity“
factor depending on the regulation concept (reg.in main / coarse-
fine / reversing / linear) and transformer type (full / auto). The
mentioned factor is determined using statistical analysis derived
from experimental data. The differences in factors arise from the
specifics of the distribution of electrical field in various power
transformer types.
With some winding arrangements (neutral-end in autotransformers
and line-end regulation in delta connected windings), very high
voltages may occur. These voltages are significantly influenced by
the choice of the regulation concept (linear, coarse fine or
reversing regulation). In such cases, additional tools are used to
determine the electrical field distribution in the power transformer
(FEM analysis). Since the tap selector size price varies
significantly, this can also be subject to optimization.
The switching capacity PStN [kVA] determines the capability of the
regulation unit to switch between regulation steps. Since the worst
case has to be considered, the required switching capacity in the
regulation unit is the product of the relevant step voltage and
maximum rated through current (both described above):

The required switching capacity for a specific contact in an OLTC
is based on the relevant step voltage and current but is also
determined by the design and circuit of the OLTC. The switching
capacity itself is primarily a function of the contact design, contact
speed and arc-quenching agent [9].
The selected regulation unit must be within the switching
capacity diagram (example in Figure 5). Limit values are given in
the manufacturer's technical guide and may rectrict certain types
of tap changers in some cases.
Figure 5: Step capacities diagram
The number of tap positions and the number of contacts have
to be considered as well - different types have different maximum
regulation range, depending on the regulation concept. A higher
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number of positions may also increase the voltage stress of the
regulating winding, so this has to be taken into consideration (as
described in the internal voltage calculations above). For rectifier
or furnace transformers, wide tapping range should be considered.
The predicted contact life of fixed and moving contacts is a
function of the rated through current and has to be compared with
the diagram for a specific regulation unit which can generally be
found in the regulation unit manufacturer's technical guide.
The recovery voltage occurs on the open change-over selector
contacts during switching sequence. It depends on the geometric
winding arrangement and the capacitances C1 and C2. Recovery
voltage can cause switching sparks or low-energy arcs, thereby
producing unwanted gas which has a negative effect on the
characteristics of the insulation media (usually insulating oil). The
recovery voltage and breaking current values have to be checked
in + and – selector switch positions:


The breaking current IS+ and IS-:


UW+ and UW- are the recovery voltages in [kV];
IS+ and IS- are breaking currents in [mA];
C1 and C2 are the capacitance values in [pF] of the regulating
winding (as shown in Figure 6) which can be approximated
assuming cylindrical winding system [10].
U1 is the rated regulated voltage in [kV];
Uf is the preselector voltage in [kV];
ω=2πf, where f is the power frequency in [Hz].
Example for recovery voltage calculation for single phase
autotransformer with regulation of common winding (Figure 7) in
wye connection (fine regulation), input data:
 Rated power: 200MVA
 Rated voltages and relevant tapping range: 400 / 230
+10 x 1,5%, -10 x 1,5% / 24 kV
 Step voltage: 1992 V
 Max. tapping current: 1772 A
Test Voltages:
 a...340 kV (1,2/50μs); 65 kV (50 Hz)
 Um... 950 kV (1,2/50μs); 395 kV (50 Hz)
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Figure 6: Recovery voltage – capacitances per phase
Figure 7: Autotransformer winding arrangement wye connection
According to input data (capacitances C1=4696pF and
C2=3366pF), following recovery voltages and breaking current
are calculated:
UW+=8,3kV; UW-=28,2kV
IS+=21mA; IS-=71,3mA
According to Figure 8., the potential measure is not needed.
Figure 8: Recovery voltage and breaking current diagram
The recovery voltage permisible value is the function of the
calculated breaking current value. The mentioned UW(IS) function
for each tap selector type and size can be found in the technical
data of the regulation unit. If the calculated values of recovery
voltages are exceeded, it is necessary to install tie-in resistors or
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select a different tap selector. The installation of the tie-in
resistors affects the regulation unit price as well as overall
transformer dimensions, so a solution with bigger tap selector size
and therefore higher permisible values of recovery voltage should
be considered in such cases. Furthermore, the tie-in resistor
dimensions are defined by the regulation unit manufacturer
specifically for each design, which can cause an additional
unwanted time delay in the transformer final design process. For
phase shifting transformers, using regulation unit with two-way
change-over selector, one can overcome problems during the
change-over selector operation and change of winding
connections between phases of the system voltage [11].
4. Tap Changer Selection Application and Database
Due to the complexity of the regulation unit technical limits
and cross-dependencies between different types, a relational
database is developed in such an architecture that an algorithm can
quickly go though all of the possible permutations and compare the
actual calculated values with every combination of regulation
unit's limits. Also, the database management user interface (UI) is
developed in MS Access environment. Within the database, SQL
is used for querying data and sending it to the application for
further analysis in the TCS algorithm (Tap Changer Selection).
The algorithm then compares the queried data with the calculation
results which are calculated in the background as thoroughly
described in chapter III. The algorithm also takes into account
different possibilities of transformer regulation: for example, a
three phase transformer can either be regulated with a single three-
phase regulation unit or three single-phase regulation units.
Furthermore, autotransformer can be designed with regulation in
main winding, meaning that the regulation unit does not have a
common neutral end. Therefore, autotransformers with such
regulation can only be regulated with three single-phase regulation
units (three-phase regulation unit requires a neutral end common
point). Also, different regulation concepts have different
possibilities for number of positions and number of contacts.
All of the mentioned above is automatically checked for every
single regulation unit combination queried from the database. This
is achieved using a foreach loop which (in each step) calls for
different modules used for this purpose. All of the modules and
functions are developed in C#, following object-oriented software
development principles (Model-View-Controller, MVC pattern).
The input for the algorithm that is expected from the application
user is the same data that the electrical designer uses in power
transformer design (MVA rating, rated voltages and required
regulation range, regulation concept, connection of regulating
winding, LI and AC voltage levels i.e. external insulation levels to
ground and number of tap positions), making the application very
user-friendly for any power transformer designer. This data model
also makes automatic data import from transformer design
software very simple. The algorithm output is the list of all the
possible solutions for regulation units (tap changers) that satisfy
the given input.
The results are finally sorted according to the expected total
cost, as shown in Figure 9. Therefore, the application user can
simply choose the first regulation unit from the generated list
knowing that this is the optimal solution. Other regulation units
from the list are not optimal but are also technically acceptable.
These can be selected in case of a specific request (e.g. higher
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external insulation level requested by the customer). Finally, a
report containing all the calculations together with the technical
limits can be generated automatically.
Figure 9: TCS results
4.1. Web application
Together with the Tap Changer Selection application, an
additional tool (Figure 10) is developed for accessing the final
order data through a Web interface.
The RSB Base application allows reading all the necessary
technical data from the ordering data sheets, saves this data to the
database and gives the possibility to search, analyze and report
through user-friendly interface.
Features and functions of the MVC WEB application and the
database:
 Tables
OLTC data loaded from ordering documenation, gets entered
into the database tables. An intuitive UI provides an
organized way to represent the data. Tables contain all
necessary fields from ordering documentation as well as
coded tables for data analyzing and reporting.
 Forms
Application provide functionality with controls that allow
inserting new ordering data, editing, deleting, page through,
sort, filter and search tables and queries, modify ordering
data, as well as creating reports.
 Reports
The application allows the user to manipulate stored data in
various ways. One can use application's built-in function for
creating reports to help in analyzing the OLTC data, e.g.,
calculation of motor drive equipment and electronics in
detail.
 Data functions
Application software provides features to organize data
(CRUD - Create Read Update and Delete) and functions for
sorting, filtering, reporting etc.
5. Results and Future Work
Possible future work includes improvements by developing a
faster OLTC search algorithm. The database contains all the
necessary technical information about the offered and executed
projects. The current available size is approximately 400 items
with more than 90 properties (with a growth tendency). By
increasing database and displaying equipment in the motor drive
unit in detail, the possibility to make a mistake in the transformer
design offer stage is already significantly reduced. In TCS
application, different simplifying estimations were made
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(depending on the regulation concept, linear distribution and
nonlinear factor were applied) which are still acurate enough to
select an OLTC properly. There is room for expansion in the
application in order to better cover some special transformer's
designs, such as HVDC, limit cases or arrangement with enforced
current splitting. However, the results are already visible in the
offering phase, by reducing the time of OLTC selection up to 90%
compared to the manual selection. This means a lot of working
hours in the design office have been saved. Further improvements
are reflected in the pooling data from application database itself
and from the web application that is related to the OLTC and
motor drive unit equipment ordering data in one general database.
Figure 10: Web interface – homescreen
6. Conclusion
The importance of regulation in power transformers shows
that optimizing and choosing the appropriate regulation unit may
have a significant impact on the transformer overall cost, making
it one of the essential parts of power transformer design.
Management of such a complex system by implementing a
software solution is presented in this paper. Comparison with
Compas tool is not entirely possible, because TCS application
works with types of OLTCs and DETCs other than ABB. It could
be said that TCS and Compas largely cover all the needs of the
transformer manufacturer for the appropriate regulation unit. In
TCS application, dozens of tables and diagrams, as well as
hundreds of pages of technical data from different manufacturers
are incorporated in the database. Nevertheless, the developed
algorithm performs all the calculations and searches through all
of the possibilities in a matter of seconds, regardless of the
regulation unit manufacturer. This represents significant time
savings and reduced possibility of errors, providing productivity
improvement in power transformer design process. Selection of
OLTC is a critical point in the transformer design process due to
a large number of correct solutions, only one of them being
optimal while also technicaly acceptable and cost-effective. It can
be concluded that the TCS application connects the physical
properties of the OLTC and the information technology, which
has led to material and time savings in transformer design process
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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
[1] M.Gazdović, T.Šimović, “Digitalization of Regulation Unit Selection
Process in Power Transformer Design” Proceedings of the 41st International
Convention for Information and Communication Technology, Electronics
and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2018).
[2] G.Leci, A.Marušić “Koordinirana regulacija napona energetskih
transformatora” 11. savjetovanje HRO CIGRÉ, 2013.
[3] IEC 60214-2 Tap-changers – Part 2: Application guide, 2004
[4] ABB, Tap-changer selection program Compas [Web]
http://new.abb.com/products/transformers/interactive-tools/tap-changer-
selection-program-compas
[5] R.Levi, “On Load Tap Changer Condition Assessment Using Dynamic
Recording and Measurement (DRM)”, 2017.
[6] A.Krämer, “On-load tap-changers for power transformers,”
Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, 2000.
[7] Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbH “TD - General Section”, 2003.
[8] IEC 60076 – 3 Power tansformers – Part 3: “Insulation levels, dielectric tests
and external clearances in air”, 2013.
[9] D.Dohnal, “On-Load Tap-Changers for power transformers,”
Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, 2013.
[10] M.Gazdović, “TCS help”, Končar Power Transformers, 2017., unpublished.
[11] T.Šimović, M.Stanić, L.Kirchner, “200 MVA phase shifting autotransformer
for HE Senj and the possibility to change-over between active and reactive
power flow control in energized state“, 4rd International Colloquium
"Transformer Research and Asset Management", May 10-12, 2017.

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